The use of herbicides to selectively control the growth of unwanted vegetation in crops grown for human and domestic animal consumption is well established. A number of problems are associated with the continued use of chemical herbicides however, including environmental pollution, crop tolerance, weed resistance, as well as economic considerations. Accordingly, the search continues for new herbicides which are economical and which are selectively toxic to unwanted vegetation.
A wide variety of benzamides are known in the art. Ward, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,141,984, discloses certain thiadiazolyl benzamides which are said to possess insecticidal efficacy. Kaplan et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 4,189,495, disclose a series of 2-methoxybenzamides which allegedly possess pharmacological activity.
An object of the present invention is to provide a novel class of N-aryl benzamides which are potent herbicides. A further object is to provide compositions containing such compounds, as well as a method for their use.